Ade's Fables by George Ade.

by George Ade

George Ade (February 9, 1866 – May 16, 1944) was an American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright.George Ade was born in Kentland, Indiana, one of seven children raised by John and Adaline (Bush) Ade. While attending Purdue University, he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He also met and started a lifelong friendship with fellow cartoonist and Sigma Chi brother John T. McCutcheon and worked as a reporter for the Lafayette Call. He graduated in 1887.In 1890 Ade joined the Chicago Morning News, which later became the Chicago Record, where McCutcheon was working. He wrote the column, Stories of the Streets and of the Town. In the column, which McCutcheon illustrated, George Ade illustrated Chicago life. It featured characters like Artie, an office boy; Doc Horne, a gentlemanly liar; and Pink Marsh, a black shoeshine boy. Ade's well-known "fables in slang" also made their first appearance in this popular column.Ade's literary reputation rests upon his achievements as a great humorist of American character during an important era in American the first large wave of migration from the countryside to burgeoning cities like Chicago, where, in fact, Ade produced his best fiction. He was a practicing realist during the Age of (William Dean) Howells and a local colorist of Chicago and the Midwest. His work constitutes a vast comedy of Midwestern manners and, indeed, a comedy of late 19th-century American manners. In 1915, Sir Walter Raleigh, Oxford professor and man of letters, while on a lecture tour in America, called George Ade "the greatest living American writer."

Genres: Humor

75 pages, Paperback

Published January 13, 2019

About the author

George Ade (February 9, 1866 – May 16, 1944) was an American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright.

Ade's literary reputation rests upon his achievements as a great humorist of American character during an important era in American history: the first large wave of migration from the countryside to burgeoning cities like Chicago, where, in fact, Ade produced his best fiction. He was a practicing realist during the Age of (William Dean) Howells and a local colorist of Chicago and the Midwest. His work constitutes a vast comedy of Midwestern manners and, indeed, a comedy of late 19th-century American manners. In 1915, Sir Walter Raleigh, Oxford professor and man of letters, while on a lecture tour in America, called George Ade "the greatest living American writer."

(wikipedia)

Reviews

[Christopher (Donut) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe someone will correct me, but I believe this is the fourth collection of fables in slang, after Fables in Slang, More Fables, and People You Know.

Along the way, I was afraid Ade had lost some of his Yumpf, slangily speaking, but the last two fables, at least, slung hash with the best of them.

Ade's fables won the praises of H. L. Mencken and Edmund Wilson, to name just two.

Here is an almost random sample of the slang style:

His front name was Willoughby, but Frances always called him "Dear," no matter what she happened to be thinking at the time.

Part of State Street had been wished on to Willoughby. He was afraid to sell, not knowing how to reinvest. So he sat back and played safe.

With growing Delight he watched the Unearned Increment piling up on every Corner. He began to see that he would be fairly busy all his life, jacking up Rents.

The Red-Brick Fortress to which he conducted Frances had Stone Steps in front and a secret Entrance for lowly Trades-people at the rear. Willoughby and his wife had the high courage of Youth and the Financial Support of all the Money Spenders along State Street, so they started in on Period Decoration.

Each Room in the House was supposed to stand for a Period. Some of them stood for a good deal. A few of the Periods looked like Exclamation Points.

The clear-eyed, insouciant cynicism of a line like "He began to see that he would be fairly busy [viz., idle] all his life, jacking up Rents." is why Ade is genuinely funny, unlike many another humorist of his day and ours.

One more excerpt. This is one of those times when the slang of a century ago causes the modern reader to pull up short and raise an eyebrow (note the last two words):

As for the Servant Problem, it was something ferocious. City Help could not be lured to the Tall Grass, and all the Locals had been schooled at the Railway Eating-House.

Elam and Claudine had a Cook named Gusta, born somewhere near the Arctic Circle in Europe. Her fried Chicken drowned in thick Gravy came under the head of Regular Food. She could turn out Waffles as long as there was a Customer in sight. The Biscuit on which she specialized were light as Down.

The Things she fixed to Eat were Fine and Dandy but she never had heard of a Cuisine. When you took her away from regular Chow and made her tackle something Casserole or En Tasse, she blew.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Ade spent most of his career writing his "fables in slang," which at their best are some of the funniest things ever written by an American.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, and slangier than some of the others, but not his best. Jean Shepherd's "The America of George Ade" is probably the best choice for Ade novices.